17 (A)The eye that mocks his father,
And scorns obedience to his mother,
The ravens of the valley will pick it out,
And the young eagles will eat it.

18 There are three things which are too wonderful for me,
Yes, four which I do not understand:
19 The way of an eagle in the air,
The way of a serpent on a rock,
The way of a ship in the [a]midst of the sea,
And the way of a man with a virgin.

20 This is the way of an adulterous woman:
She eats and wipes her mouth,
And says, “I have done no wickedness.”

21 For three things the earth is perturbed,
Yes, for four it cannot bear up:
22 (B)For a servant when he reigns,
A fool when he is filled with food,
23 A [b]hateful woman when she is married,
And a maidservant who succeeds her mistress.

24 There are four things which are little on the earth,
But they are exceedingly wise:
25 (C)The ants are a people not strong,
Yet they prepare their food in the summer;
26 (D)The [c]rock badgers are a feeble folk,
Yet they make their homes in the crags;
27 The locusts have no king,
Yet they all advance in ranks;
28 The [d]spider skillfully grasps with its hands,
And it is in kings’ palaces.

29 There are three things which are majestic in pace,
Yes, four which are stately in walk:
30 A lion, which is mighty among beasts
And does not turn away from any;
31 A [e]greyhound,
A male goat also,
And [f]a king whose troops are with him.

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 30:19 Lit. heart
  2. Proverbs 30:23 Or hated
  3. Proverbs 30:26 rock hyraxes
  4. Proverbs 30:28 Or lizard
  5. Proverbs 30:31 Or perhaps strutting rooster, lit. girded of waist
  6. Proverbs 30:31 A Jewish tradition a king against whom there is no uprising

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